Coastal perilRising Seas Threaten Low-Lying Coastal Cities, 10 percent of World Population
A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions finds that, because sea level rise exacerbates flooding and storm surge, it is a critical threat to urban coastal areas. More than 10 percent of the world’s population now resides in urban centers or quasi-urban clusters situated at less than 10 meters above sea level.
The recent Typhoon Hagibis — the most powerful storm to hit Japan since 1958 — caused massive destruction. The reported death toll as of October 22 has climbed to 80, with another 398 injured and 11 people still missing. Tens of thousands of homes were flooded, damaged, or without power after torrential rain and powerful winds resulted in tornados, widespread mudslides, and overflowing rivers. In addition, an earthquake in the northeastern area of Japan (Chiba-Tokyo) compounded landslides and flooding. Insured losses throughout the country are estimated at more than $10 billion.
Part of the reason the damage was so intense was because of the concentration of settlements in Japan’s low-lying coastal cities. Approximately a fifth of the population lives in low-lying coastal urban centers — comprised of densely clustered residents, buildings, and infrastructure — less than 10 meters above sea level. These areas are especially vulnerable to flooding and storm surge impacts.
A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions finds that, because sea level rise exacerbates flooding and storm surge, it is a critical threat to urban coastal areas. More than 10 percent of the world’s population now resides in urban centers or quasi-urban clusters situated at less than 10 meters above sea level. Research and analysis by Columbia University’s CIESIN contributed to the new findings.
When the Coalition for Urban Transitions decided to investigate the global scale of urban vulnerability to sea level rise, it was quickly apparent that new estimates of exposed populations would be needed. Fortunately, population estimation in an area in which CIESIN has particular expertise. A 2007 paper by a team from CIESIN and the International Institute for Environment and Development provided the first global estimates of impacts to urban populations from sea level rise. The 2007 paper relied on a data set called the Low Elevation Coastal Zone Urban Rural Population Estimates. These estimates were based on population count data from the Gridded Rural Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP), developed by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) managed by CIESIN, and elevation data from the NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
